This invention relates to streak tubes and more particularly to an oblique streak tube.
The closest previously known streak tube for achieving high-quantum efficiency at short wavelengths (X-ray and ultraviolet wavelengths) is that described by P. R. Bird et al in the article entitled "Picosecond Chronography At X-ray Wavelengths", Proceedings of the Eleventh Congress on High Speed Photography, University of London, 1974. In this article an opaque photocathode is used. However, the light is focused onto the opaque photocathode in the streak tube through a window in the sidewall of the tube. The input light strikes the photocathode at a steep slant angle (the optical ray makes an angle of only a few degrees with respect to the plane of the photocathode) and this puts severe restrictions on the input optical interface (depth of focus, alignment, optical speed, etc.) between the streak tube and the optical system.